On Thursday Melisa cooked up a traditional turkey feast for out MAE staff at Kovan to enjoy for Thanksgiving, the American version of a Harvest Festival. Apart from the turkey, stuffing and gravy, we had creamy bean casserole and mashed sweet potato topped with toasted marshmallows (yes, you read that right). She is an outstanding foodie who loves nothing better than to cook for her American husband and others. We are so grateful to have her on staff, an Italian Nonna in a gorgeous young person's bod. Craig even rated her turkey as better than his mum's this year. Not bad for having to manage in a tiny bench top oven. The only disappointment was we had to gobble it down in the 25 min break between classes. Oh, and I forgot to mention the pumpkin pie! It was a struggle to teach that last session, I just wanted to curl up and snooze. Lucky we didn't share a sparkling rose with that.
The Americans have a lot to give thanks for, and so do we. How lucky we have been given the opportunities we have had and a supportive family who have allowed us to pursue them. As we pack up and get ready to return to Australian shores we have time to reflect on all we will be leaving behind here. It has been a wonderful five years. In a final post I will try to capture some of that for you.
We finished up the working week at Saturday House just down the hill from our place. Over the years this strip of shops has really upgraded as the construction of a number of condos nearly has been completed. There is now a laksa shop and a Geylang Prawn Noodle House along with our favourite local roti outlet. We tried out a bowl of noodles for lunch on Tuesday and I was intrigued by the folded magazine shapes on the table beside the soy sauce and chopsticks. It turns out they are craftily folded waste paper bins for your prawn tails and chicken bones. How clever, no need to spit them on the table as is the regular practice. The number of Japanese food outlets is exploding here too, in the malls.
We have had our final night at Wine Mansion in Outram for the MAE social club's end of year drinks. It was a small, select group; basically just the older staff but importantly included all but one of those departing. Once again it was a fun night and we were too late for the trains when we ventured out onto the street. Thank goodness the taxis here are still very reasonable and plentiful.
On Monday the walkers enjoyed their final step out together along the Southern Ridges.
I went looking for a small can of paint to do some patch up work on the walls. What a saga that turned out to be over the next few days. I began with a tube but the chosen 'Pearl' turned out to have a lustre. The guy in the paint shop must have thought he was on a good thing here; thank goodness it is only a short walk away. They are not overly helpful in the shop and the charts really don't help much. 'Ivory' was more like gold, 'Cream' was more like grey. I think at last we've got it right, but it is going to take a few coats to cover up the mess we have made. All but the 'wet' areas are now scrubbed and the big clean up is close to being finished.
The Americans have a lot to give thanks for, and so do we. How lucky we have been given the opportunities we have had and a supportive family who have allowed us to pursue them. As we pack up and get ready to return to Australian shores we have time to reflect on all we will be leaving behind here. It has been a wonderful five years. In a final post I will try to capture some of that for you.
We have had our final night at Wine Mansion in Outram for the MAE social club's end of year drinks. It was a small, select group; basically just the older staff but importantly included all but one of those departing. Once again it was a fun night and we were too late for the trains when we ventured out onto the street. Thank goodness the taxis here are still very reasonable and plentiful.
On Monday the walkers enjoyed their final step out together along the Southern Ridges.
I went looking for a small can of paint to do some patch up work on the walls. What a saga that turned out to be over the next few days. I began with a tube but the chosen 'Pearl' turned out to have a lustre. The guy in the paint shop must have thought he was on a good thing here; thank goodness it is only a short walk away. They are not overly helpful in the shop and the charts really don't help much. 'Ivory' was more like gold, 'Cream' was more like grey. I think at last we've got it right, but it is going to take a few coats to cover up the mess we have made. All but the 'wet' areas are now scrubbed and the big clean up is close to being finished.
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